February-March
Carnival - Carnival celebrations include costume parades on the streets, music and street dancing. The end of the celebrations is marked by the peculiar tradition of the Burial of the Sardine (El Entierro de la Sardina). This act, complete with soberly dressed mourners, tongue firmly pressed into cheek, commemorates the day a shipload of rotting sardines arrived at Carlos III's court and he ordered them away to be immediately buried.

April
At Easter, celebrations for the Holy Week are held in Madrid as well as in all Spanish towns, with multiple religious events.

May
Dos de Mayo
This celebration recalls a popular revolt started in Puerta del SolMay 1808 that eventually lead to the War of Independence and the defeat of the French invaders.

San Isidro
San Isidro is the male Patron Saint of Madrid. His feast day is celebrated on the 15th May with local festive pilgramages called "romerías", fairs and bullfights. The most important bullfights in Spain (and the world) take place in Madrid's Plaza de Ventas bullring in this occasion and last more than 20 days. These fights held in Spain's premiere bullring attracts the best fighters and breeders, together with the most knowledgable aficionados.
The ten day programme of music fun and feasting including music and parties held all over the city in honour of the Patron Saint is not to be missed.

August
La Paloma
Street parties, dances and popular celebrations during the first half of August in the occasion of the fiesta of the Virgin of La Paloma take place in the old centre of Madrid. On the 15th August a statue of this Virgin is paraded through the streets to cries of "Guapa!" (beautiful in Spanish).

October
Autumn Festival
This cultural festival features more than 50 dance, theatre and musical groups from countries throughout Europe, the Middle East and America who participate in a programme of opera, ballet, dance, music and theatre at about 40 venues throughout the city. The extraordinary selection of music ranges from chamber music and classic plays to flamenco and hip-hop.

November
La Almudena
The Virgin of La Almudena is the female Patron Saint of Madrid and takes place on the 9th of Novembre. Her image was supposedly brought to Spain by the Apostle Santiago (St. James) and hidden away inside a city wall when the Moors invaded in year 783. Two centuries later, the legend goes, the wall fell away exposing the same lit candles she had been hidden with.